


Life of a Teenage Omega

by yaoiandcoffeeaddict



Category: Monster High
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fanart, M/M, Possible Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2014-02-07
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:48:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoiandcoffeeaddict/pseuds/yaoiandcoffeeaddict
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warning: alpha/beta/omega dynamics, possible mpreg, slash</p><p>Pairing: Jackson/?; Holt/?, </p><p>Summary: Both the Monster and Normie worlds are full of Alphas and Betas; one in five thousand are born Omegas and even fewer are males. Jackson always knew he was different, but he didn't know it was not due to his mixed parentage. People besides his family intimidated him and he never quite fit in with other children, monster or normie, the few times he encountered them. In an effort to protect him, his parents kept him at home. </p><p>Unfortunately, Jackson's parents are killed in an explosion in their lab and he is classified in the hospital as a male Omega. His cousin on his Father's side Heath and his family take him in. Suddenly, he finds himself amid Alphas and Betas attending Monster High and struggling with his identity as an omega and the alternate personality created from the explosion- Holt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Story coming soon! 


	2. Friends and Enemies

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

Jackson shifted his weight from side to side as he eyed the large, pale purple castle in front of him carefully from the sidewalk. It was so big… how would he be able to find his way around that place? The various scents from the sidewalk were already confusing his sensitive nose and his cousin had already made it clear he would be no help when Heath had jumped out of Auntie Fuegana’s car and ran towards a group of boys in similar jackets to his without word. 

Clutching his new turquoise school bag, he felt through the top compartment for the small bottle of scent suppressor pills he’d packed just in case his metabolism burned through the pill he took an hour ago. It was strange enough suddenly attending a ‘monster’ high school as a ‘normie’ and he didn’t want them to realize he was an omega on top of everything. 

Turquoise eyes quickly darted around. On one side of the lawn by the stairs were his cousin and what seemed to be his friends. Two female werewolves were arguing next to Heath’s group. A bunch of girls were sitting on the steps of the school, talking with wild hand gestures and occasionally offering some word to Heath’s group. A few little groups of zombies stood in different areas, the closest cluster to him were playing chess. There was a minotaur playing frights-bie with a small demon creature near the trees. So far no one had even noticed him. That was good.

The bell rang and all the students on the lawn began to file in. Taking a deep breath, Jackson started walking inside only to find his path cut off by the minotaur he had seen earlier. 

“Wrong way, normie. Your school is about ten blocks that way,” the minotaur huffed, unsettling his nose ring momentarily as he leaned down into Jackson’s face. There was no question that the minotaur was an alpha before Jackson’s nose even confirmed it.

The turquoise-eyed boy shrank back at the sensation of the hot breath on his skin and shyly replied, “I… I am at the… ri…right… school.” One hand reached up to nervously pull at the turquoise bow-tie Aunt Fuegana insisted he wear to keep the top of his shirt closed around his neck and cover any lingering scent of his sex. (As an added bonus it also covered up his scars.) He lowered his head and attempted to skirt around the minotaur’s large form into the school, only to be snatched off the ground by a large furry fist that set him outside the hall once again. 

A pair of male cats behind the minotaur cackled in response before stopping as a sudden clacking noise echoed in the hallway and the remaining students immediately scattered. 

“You win this time, normie,” the minotaur growled before following where the two cats had gone. 

Jackson began to shake in trepidation as the clacking sound grew louder and louder, but he couldn’t bring his legs to move from their spot. Who knew what kind of creature would send a minotaur running for cover? He closed his eyes and braced himself for an even bigger creature to barrel into him. 

Finally, whatever it was came to a halt in front of him and let out a neigh. Expecting to see a centaur, Jackson opened one eye only to find his face nuzzled by a dark horse as its rider slid off its back, holding her detached head in her hand. The very sight of such a thing made Jackson wince before the headless body placed its unoccupied hand on Jackson’s shoulder in a gentle manner. Jackson’s mind instantly flew to his father, who would often do the same thing and that hollow feeling in his chest and stomach returned. “You must be Jackson. I am Headmistress Bloodgood; let me be the first to welcome you to the glorious halls of Monster High. I understand this is your first time attending a public school so if you have any concerns or questions I hope you will not hesitate to see me.”

Public school? It was actually his first time attending an actual school period. His parents had been overprotective and home schooled him in everything they knew. What they didn’t know, they enrolled him for in online classes. “Uh… um… okay…” Jackson quietly replied as he returned his gaze to the floor just as another bell rang.

“Ah, it’s time for your first class of the day. I believe it’s History of the Undead with Mr. Rotter, correct?” Headmistress Bloodgood asked as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and escorted him further into the school with her horse trailing behind them. Strangely, the action did not intimidate Jackson at all despite the Headmistress’s alpha status. Jackson did not know alphas could be so warm.

“Yes…”

“Wonderful! Allow me to escort you there. Wouldn’t want you to get lost on your first day, would we?”

The history and undead languages classroom was located in the back of the school and most students had already taken their seats by the time the pair had arrived. The pale blue-green teacher was scribbling a few words on the chalkboard while glancing at his open binder every now and again. Mr. Rotter stopped writing the second he glanced up and cast a large grin in their direction. “Ah, yes. Welcome to History of the Undead, Mr. Jekyll! Please take a seat anywhere you like.”

Jackson blushed as all eyes turned towards him and he nervously bit his lip. 

“Go on, Jackson,” the headmistress shooed him as she relinquished her arm and gently pushed him forward. 

Taking in the various open seats and the cold stares he was receiving from his fellow students, he decided to sit next to the zombie girl in the back row who was gesturing invitingly to the seat beside her with an eerie but genuine smile. He climbed to the top of the theatre-like classroom with heavy legs and took the offered seat beside the zombie, who moaned before slowly sliding a text book over and gesturing to the page: Attila the Harriun and the invasion from the east. 

Ah… the famous yeti leader the ventured into the normie areas of the Mediterranean before Pope Gregory convinced him to move on and then the yeti and his people simply vanished. (Although some claimed the Harriuns settled down with the normies in the areas near Turkey.) Jackson couldn’t imagine what those kids would look like…

“Mr. Jekyll, are you among the living?” the teacher Mr. Rotter asked, breaking Jackson’s daydreaming. 

Jackson blinked in surprise, realizing he must have been called on without realizing it. All eyes in the class were upon him and a deep blush settled over his features. “Uh… yes… yes I am. Sorry… what was the question?”

Several students in the class snickered.

“I was asking which invasion took place in the High Middle Ages that reminded people of the Harriuns,” Mr. Rotter repeated.

“The… uh…”

“Yes?”

The beta zombie girl gave him a small encouraging smile and Jackson finally got up the courage to answer. “The Mongrels, sir, led by Genghis Kutya. Though they were from a different area and werewolves, they were furry and came from the east.”

“Good, good,” Mr. Rotter praised and turned his back to the class to scribble Genghis and Mongrels on the board, allowing someone to throw a paper ball at Jackson’s head from another corner of the classroom as someone hissed ‘Nerdy Normie.’

Great… twenty minutes into the first class and already he had a rhyming nickname. Jackson sighed in defeat as the zombie girl patted his hand reassuringly with a tiny whisper of a moan that he interpreted as ‘It’s going to be alright’ but his zombie was a little rusty… 

The rest of the day continued pretty much in the same way but at least the zombie girl was in two of his morning classes- the second being Advanced Placement Monster Literature. He was on his own for Clawculus second period and he did not like the way the alpha werewolf girl Clawdeen’s nose kept twitching at him. He’d read some werewolves had noses that could sniff out your sex even with scent suppressors and he hoped that wasn’t the case and it was something else that had grabbed her attention. 

Time passes quickly when you put all your time and energy into becoming invisible and soon it was lunch... As he expected from such a large school, the cafeteria was huge and packed with students eating, gossiping and, in some cases, snuggling. Following the crowd, he stepped into one of the three serving lines and grabbed a tray. 

Jackson never thought he would say it but he suddenly missed the hospital food he’d been forced to eat for three months. There were things in front of him he’d never seen; things not even his Dad had cooked and his Dad had often made food that was inedible to the ‘normie’ palates of him and his Mom. Jackson was relieved to see milk, a green apple, red jello, and a slice of cheese pizza at the end of the line. He immediately snatched them up, paid for his meal with the scowling lunch lady, and turned around to find himself in another problem… where to sit. Every table was occupied and he didn’t see the zombie girl anywhere. As he scanned the cafeteria, he noted commotion coming from one of the tables where a vampire girl had been sitting with a werewolf boy. The werewolf boy and Clawdeen from his Clawculus class argued before vacating the table… 

Awesome… a table was free!

The turquoise-eyed boy attempted to walk as fast as possible to the empty table only to have his way stopped by two alphas pushing him aside as they walked past him. When he glanced back up, the werewolf boy had returned to the table and had taken some of his school books out. There went that idea…

“Hey, Jackson! We have a spot over here for you, buddy,” someone called from his right and he glanced up to see his cousin sitting at a table with a gorgon boy… a very cute gorgon boy who waving at him with an amazing smile. 

Whoa… where had that thought come from? Fighting back a tell-tale blush, the normie proceeded to cross the cafeteria and take a seat beside his cousin who groaned and proceeded to dunk several fries into barbeque sauce and stuff them in his face. (Or at least Jackson hoped it was barbeque sauce… with Heath you never knew.) 

 

“So, Jackson, how are you liking Monster High?” the gorgon boy pushed aside his own empty tray and rested his head on his elbows, freeing up the cuffs of his sleeves and allowing his scent to escape. Alpha… very virile alpha…

Jackson instinctively lowered his gaze and inclined his neck before he caught himself and played it off by scratching his back. “It’s been… interesting.”

“So, Dude, where did you go before here?” the gorgon asked.

“I… uh…”

“He was home-schooled,” Heath replied for him with a bored expression as he swished left over sauce back and forth on his yellow plate. 

“Home-schooled?” the gorgon repeated. “Wow… I guess this is kinda strange for you then…”

“Umm… yeah,” Jackson said. 

“So what made you decide to come to Monster High, Dude?”

Jackson bit his lip, unsure of how to respond to that question. He glanced at his cousin in a silent plea for help that was ignored in favor of sketching a barbeque girl on the plate.

He didn’t feel like telling anyone about the accident; Jackson had only woken up from his coma three months ago and it was still too fresh in his mind. He still saw himself at fourteen in the kitchen of his house making a couple of sandwiches to take to his Dad, who had been working on some unstable compounds in the basement. His Mom had come into the kitchen with some sort of letter that she said his Dad needed to see. Jackson had given her the sandwiches and ten minutes later… a sharp boom, a feeling of weightlessness, and then blackness. It… it still didn’t feel real and most mornings he thought he was still at home before he fully takes in his surroundings. 

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,” the gorgon boy offered, drawing Jackson back to reality again.

“Um… thanks,” Jackson whispered before taking a bite of his pizza only to spit it out into a napkin. “Eww… what the heck was that!”

“Dude, don’t tell me you just ate blood pizza,” the gorgon said with a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth as his snake-hair hissed in laughter.

“Blu… blu… blood pizza,” Jackson cried as he turned a sickly shade of green and pushed his tray as far away from himself as possible as his cousin laughed uncontrollably next to him. He just lost his appetite for the entire day. 

“Well you did enter the vamp line. What did you expect?” Heath asked as he thumped his smaller cousin on the back with a proud grin. 

“That was the vamp line?” Jackson said, bewildered.

“Don’t worry, dude. We’ll show you which line to get into next time,” the gorgon promised.

“Uh… thanks…um… what is your name?”

“It’s Deuce Gorgon,” the gorgon offered with a smile as he offered a hand to him.

“Jackson Jekyll,” Jackson stated as he took the offered hand and shyly shook it.

Well… at least he seemed to have made two friends that day… or at least good acquaintances. 

To Be Continued…

Please Comment!


	3. Learning to make an entrance

LEARNING TO MAKE AN ‘ENTRANCE’

After lunch, the halls of monster high were far more energetic. Amid the loud shuffling of feet and the electronic squeals of iCoffins, there was an abundance of laughter both good and bad. Despite his new acquaintanceship with Deuce, Jackson still was weary of his fellow students and decided to wait until the hallway was clearer before trying to find his next class. Thankfully, the classroom was close by and Jackson found the room long before the bell rung but he found himself frozen in the doorway as fear gripped him. It was not the sight of the teacher in the corner sharpening his knives that gave him pause but the all-too-familiar sight of beakers, cylinders, and Bunsen burners assembled neatly at the tables. 

Jackson found himself backing up into the hall before he realized, trembling in fear. Before he knew it, the teacher was there in the doorway grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside. 

“Well, well, well… what do we ‘ave ‘ere? Heard you were comin’ I did, Mr. Jekyll but didn’t really think you’d make it past first period. Say… are you any relation to a Henry Jekyll?”

“Tha…that’s my Dad’s name,” Jackson whispered as he was steered to a seat at the front of the class. 

“Ah! So that’s the way of it then! We were mates in college, we were. Finest Mad Scientist I ever met. Didn’t realize he married a normie, but he often strayed off campus into the normie side of town. You have his eyes and chin, lad.”

“I do?” Jackson asked as he adjusted his glasses. He’d always been told he looked like his mom by both sides of the family. 

“Indeed. How is his genetic research going?” 

Jackson froze, unsure of how to answer. His mouth open and closed and a stray tear stung at the edge of his right eye. Thankfully, a loud noise came from the opposite side of the classroom and drew the teacher’s attention away from his. Jackson sighed in relief when he realized the noise had been his cousin who had been messing with a Bunsen burner and somehow shattered one of the empty beakers. 

“Sorry, Mr. Hack,” Heath apologized as the teacher advanced menacingly towards him yelling about idiots. 

The rest of the class went well. There were no more panic attacks or questions about his dad. He also had Ghoulia as his lab partner and the two easily created the stomach-settling solution they had been instructed to create that day. Before he knew it, class was over and it was time for P.E. Luckily, there were no gym clothes to change into and they were playing casketball, which was something Jackson had always wanted to try and he did okay considering he’d never played before. (He’d even made a few shots.) 

The last class he had of the day was with Mr. Rotter again and this time he had both Deuce and Ghoulia on either side of him for the period. Today they were going over ancient Latin and sentence structure (or the lack there of). Before he knew it, the bell rang for the end of school and it was time to go. Despite the chaos of the hallway, Jackson was able to make it to the sidewalk outside the school in no time and wait for his aunt where she had dropped them off. 

As he mentally went over the homework they’d been assigned for the day, he heard a strange sound to his left and looked to see an Egyptian cart held up by at twelve monsters with jackal heads in time to see one of the girls in his Dead Languages class climb in. Wow, he’d heard some monster families were stuck in the past and chose the old fashion way but that was unbelievable. Hopefully she lived nearby and those jackals didn’t have to go too far.

Several minutes pass by as Jackson waits by the sidewalk. Little by little, the students file out while waving each other good bye and Jackson has to wonder after thirty minutes where his aunt is or his cousin for that matter. Could they have already left him behind? No. His aunt would not allow that right? As another panic attack begins to build in his chest, he hears a distant thumping of music as a car drove by the entrance of the school and a splitting headache comes over him. He supposed it was a side-effect of the explosion but loud music tended to give him the most agonizing migraines and there were a few times he blacked out from the pain. Just as the migraine begins to subside, his aunt’s car pulls up. 

There’s a click and a soft sound as his aunt rolls down her passenger window. “Jack, are you okay?” his Aunt Fuegana asks just as the headache begins to subside. 

Embarrassed by his shaking, he offers a tight smile before sliding into the backseat. When the car begins moving without any sign of his cousin, Jackson help but ask, “What about Heath?”

“Oh, he has casketball practice until six today. He’ll catch a ride home with his friend, Clawde. Didn’t he tell you?” his Aunt asks, catching his eyes in the mirror. 

Jackson shakes his head and he catches his Aunt’s eye-roll. 

“Don’t take it personally, sweetie. I think his father dropped him on his head as an infant and destroyed some of his social skills.”

A laugh escaped Jackson involuntarily and he relaxed into his seat and glances out the window, suddenly realizing he did not recognize the street they were on. “Um, Aunt Fuegana… where…?”

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mention it when you got in. Your Uncle Feueron called me at work today and told me about an agency downtown that offers afterschool classes for omegas and their families. They have both Monster and Normie students! Can you imagine that?”

With a sinking feeling and a brief glance at his messenger bag, Jackson sank back in his chair. He had at least two hours worth of homework from school that day already and he didn’t know how long this would take. Not to mention he had already been around more people in one day of school than he had in his entire life without a ‘spazz attack’ (as his cousin called it) and he was really drained. 

“It will be okay, Jack,” his Aunt promised as she caught his look in the mirror. 

Jackson nodded despite the urge to refuse. “What kinds of classes?” 

“Etiquette classes,” his Aunt said with a sigh, “but I thought it might be nice for you to interact with other omegas.” 

Thinking about it, Jackson thought it would make sense. He had never met an omega besides himself although he hadn’t known he was an omega until they told him when he woke up in the hospital. He might like it.

It was a bit of a long drive but they made it to the agency at five o’clock. On the outside, the building was cheery. It was an old Victorian-style large home painted a soft yellow with white shutters surrounded by tall modern office buildings with a large parking lot. There was an old sign swinging from above the porch that read, “Omega Advancement Agency” and a bright welcome mat sign with sunflowers at the front door. The old omega woman who answered the door, though, was anything but. Her lips were thin and her eyes stern as she glared at both Jackson and his aunt.

“You’re late,” the woman finally said as she narrowed her eyes on him. “Not a very attractive quality for an omega.” But the bony hand waved Jackson inside into the parlor while she talked to his aunt in the entryway. Twelve girls from the age of ten to eighteen were waiting in small cliques about the room, talking amongst themselves in soft whispers and laughs. Eight of the twelve were ‘normies’ wearing long, high-collared pale-colored dresses that were lit with the sunlight of the afternoon sun. Three of monster girls were dressed in similar attire and did not appear any older than twelve years old (or at least twelve by ‘normie’ standards). 

The only one who was not dressed for a Victorian tea party was the vaguely familiar blonde water creature who was wearing athletic shorts and a long sleeve pink scale detailed top giving him a friendly smile from her lonely seat. Now that he thought about it, she was in his first and last classes at Monster High. Jackson’s eyes shyly lowered to the floor when all girls stopped their conversations to stare at him. 

“What kind of an outfit is that?” he heard one of them whisper. 

“Could he be color blind?” another omega suggested with a snicker. 

“What’s with the hair? And is that a _piercing_?” A normie omega in a pale green dress asked, seeming quite scandalized.

Jackson only looked up when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder and found himself blinking into large sea-green eyes. “Don’t let them intimidate you, mate,” the sea creature whispered and gently led him over to where she had been sitting on the windowsill. “The name’s Lagoona Blue.”

“Jackson Jekyll,” he offered with a small smile as he sat down. Noting the girls kept glancing back to them, he asked, “Are they always like this?”

Lagoona inclined her head in thought. “They probably never met a male omega before. I know I haven’t. My parents say there used to be tons of them back home in the Great Barrier Reef but they moved to different waters before I was born.”

“Settle down, darlings,” the old omega woman commanded as she entered the parlor and took a seat in the large armchair at the front of the room. Jackson hadn’t noticed before that she was wearing a black gown similar to the young omega girls. “Now that everyone has arrived,” she began, giving Jackson a disapproving glance, “we can begin our first lesson- making an entrance into a social function. Most of you, I am pleased to say have already mastered the presentation portion of this lesson.” She gestured to the eleven girls in their pale Victorian dresses with a small smile that quickly turned into a scowl as she looked over at where Jackson and Lagoona sat. “Ms. Blue, would you wear an outfit such as that to a meet-and-greet event?” 

“No, ma’am. I wasn’t told there’d be a dress code.”

“It was implied and I hope you will follow it beyond our lessons. Even with today’s scent suppressors, omegas should not expose their necks to all and sundry.” The old woman sighed before narrowing her gaze on Jackson. “And you, Mr. Jekyll. I can see the beginnings of proper attire but those colors and that hair…”

“My hair is naturally two-toned,” Jackson defended as he self-consciously brushed one of his bangs back and adjusted his glasses.

“Do not speak out of turn, young man! Especially not to older company; how do you expect to impress your future in-laws with such disrespect?” The older omega scolded before her eyes narrowed and she exclaimed, “Is that a piercing!”

Jackson’s hand quickly flew to his sole eyebrow piercing. He’d seen some cartoon wearing something like it on television once as a child and wanted something similar. His favorite uncle on his mother’s side had owned a tattoo parlor and gave him the tiny silver hoop piercing on his eighth birthday. Instead of being angry, his parents had instead been impressed that his uncle had been able to get Jackson to sit long enough in an unfamiliar place for it. His Uncle Danny had died of heart failure three years later and it was all he had left of him now.

“The only piercings allowed in this house are in the ears or covered. You will remove it for our next lesson. Understood?”

As much as he wanted to protest, Jackson nodded his head and gazed at the floor. When the omega woman started drawling on about the proper way for an omega to carry oneself at an event, Lagoona whispered, “Don’t listen to her, I like your piercing.”

“I think she belongs back in the late 1800s,” he whispered back and earned a small laugh.

“What are you doing on Fright-day? I was planning on meeting up with some friends at the Coffin Bean and then the shopping or the movies if you care to join me.”

Jackson could have burst with happiness then. An invitation to go to the mall with friends was something he never thought he’d have. The response of ‘yes’ was on the tip of his tongue but his reply was cut off by a sharp scolding. 

“Are you and Ms. Blue, quite done with your conversation?”

“Uh… yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Another word and I’ll be forced to separate you two.” Then she went back to teaching.

Despite what Heath called his nerdy nature to please, when Lagoona chuckled slightly beside him he found himself giving a chuckle as well before catching her eyes and nodding. The next hour had them practicing walking perfect posture with books on in the parlor and then on the steps. Walking in the parlor had been fine but the book fell from his head several times on the stairs before the instructor snapped at him to practice at home. It was around 7:30 at night when they were finally dismissed to go home. 

Before he went out the door to meet his aunt, he was stopped by Lagoona’s hand on his shoulder. “Let me give you my phone number before you leave, mate.” She held out her hand and it took a few seconds before he realized she was asking for his cell-phone.

“Um… I don’t have a cell-phone,” he said and she immediately drew her hand back. Jackson was slightly disappointed before he saw she was reaching into her pocket for her own.

“Sorry, I’m just so used to simply putting my number in someone’s iCoffin. Do you have a home number?”

Jackson nodded and gave her the number of the Burns family home. With one last wave good-bye, he found his way to his aunt’s car and climbed in the passenger seat. “Have fun?” she asked while checking the mirrors and beginning to back the car out. 

Despite he knew she wasn’t paying attention he found himself nodding before voicing the ‘yes’ she was looking for. “I got invited to go the mall on Fright-day.”

“Oh? With who?”

“Lagoona Blue, she goes to our school.”

“Lagoona… ah, yes. I think Heath has talked about her once or twice; she tutored him in Oceanography if I remember correctly. He didn’t mention she was an omega… But the mall… are you sure you can handle it? There are lots of beings there on Fright-day nights and lots of loud noises.”

“I… I think so. I handled today okay.”

“Well… if you’re sure. Just remember to take extra coins for a payphone in case you need to call us to come home.”

To Be Continued…


	4. Fright-Night Society

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> see beginning

FRIGHT-DAY SOCIETY

The first week at Monster High flowed by much the same as the first day. Jackson was left mainly alone other than the occasional bullying from the odd few alphas like the minotaur. He would sit with the zombie girl (who he learned was named Ghoulia) or Lagoona during classes and eat lunch with his cousin and the gorgon boy, Deuce. Finally, it was Fright-day night and Jackson found himself standing in front of the full-length mirror of his new bedroom looking at what he could possibly wear. 

Turquoise or yellow top? Yellow was his all-time favorite color but turquoise looked better on him. What color jeans- the dark blue or the black hip-huggers his aunt had bought him? The dark blue were more comfortable and he didn’t feel quite as self-conscious in them but the black seemed more fashion forward. He quickly pulled the turquoise and black outfit on and turned from one side to another. He looked okay but it didn’t seem like him. Maybe he should go with the yellow…

“Aw… looks like little Jackson wants to impress someone,” Heath teased as he stood in the doorway playing the car keys and smoothing his letterman jacket. 

Jackson scowled as he looked at his cousin. “Why do you have car keys?”

“Mom’s busy so Dad said I could drive you.”

“I didn’t even know you had your license,” Jackson stated as he fiddled with his shirt before giving up. It was getting late and if Heath was driving, there was no telling how that would go. Best to get it over with before something shiny distracted his cousin… or the cops stopped them. Maybe it would be best to walk; how far away was the mall?

“Got it last month,” Heath replied, a look of boredom on his face. “Are you coming or not? I want to go meet up with the casketball team sometime this century.

“I’m coming,” Jackson replied as he pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt and grabbed his messenger bag that he had emptied of his school stuff. 

“Dude, why don’t you just use the pocket of your jeans for keeping your cash?” Heath asked as they descended the stairs. 

“I need to carry my scent suppressors too,” Jackson reasoned with a blush. The pill bottle would be too obvious in the pocket of his jeans. 

“Jackson!” Uncle Feueron’s voice called from the kitchen before the two got to the front door.

“Yes, Uncle?” he replied as he slowly made his way towards the sound. 

His uncle had his back to him as he approached so all Jackson saw was the bright orange, spiky hair and red track suit. As the turquoise-eyed boy drew closer, his nose told him his uncle was in the process of making chili. His uncle set aside a wooden spoon he was using to stir before turning around and reaching for the wallet on the counter. “Let me give you some spending money before you go.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” Jackson waved off the offer. “I still have the fifty you gave me last month.” 

“Still, you will need to pick up two traditional outfits for your Monday afternoon classes,” his uncle reasoned as he pulled out four fifty-dollar bills. “I believe the instructor wants you to pick up soft pastel shirts and white bow-ties.”

“Uh… thank you,” Jackson said as he accepted the money and put it inside his bag. Lagoona did say they might go shopping so hopefully he wouldn’t have to go into the store alone. His uncle smiled and affectionately patted him on the shoulder.

“Hey, can I get some extra money too?” Heath asked with his best puppy dog eyes as he held out a hand.

His uncle handed his son a twenty and Heath whined, “Hey, Jackson got two hundred. No fair!”

“You’re lucky to get that after nearly burning down the Mad Science lab last month,” Uncle Feueron replied as he turned back around.

“But that was ages ago…” Heath complained before sighing. “Come on nerd; let’s get going.” Jackson shrugged the insult off as he pushed his bag further up his shoulder and followed closely behind his cousin into his uncle’s truck. 

The ride to the mall was spent in both silence and terror as Jackson held on to the side door grip for dear life. As he suspected, Heath was all about speed and they reached their destination within ten minutes with him going fifteen miles over the speed limit. As soon as the vehicle was parked, Jackson launched himself out of the truck and vowed never to get back in if Heath was driving. 

“Come on! I’m not that bad…” his cousin laughed as he locked up.

Jackson shook his head as he waited for his legs to stop trembling. “Too fast, Heath. You’ll get yourself killed like that.”

Heath shrugged and both made their way inside. The first thing that hit Jackson was the wave of scents. As Aunt Fuegana said, the mall was packed with people of all ages and Jackson had to duck several strangers’ elbows as he tried to keep up with his cousin. It was a futile effort though as Heath vanished into the crowd. He was alone… “Come on, Jackson, you can do this,” he told himself as he forced the panic down. Taking deep breaths, he kept pushing through to get to the mall map. Once determining the Coffin Bean was in the middle of the second floor, he began to make his way to the escalator and up to the second floor. As soon as he made it past a group of vampires, he was relieved to see the brown sign of the coffee shop attached to the purple shop on his left. 

He found Lagoona sitting at a table in the back corner with several other girls laughing at something. They looked so happy and comfortable with each other… Gathering his courage and adjusting his glasses, he made his way over to them with a small smile. “Hey... I…” Someone’s foot caught his ankle and he stumbled to his knees. Cackling laughter to his right made him realize the cat girl had done it on purpose. 

“Better watch your step, nerdy normie,” the ginger-haired cat hissed at him with a mischievous smirk before frowning and sniffing at him with a look of confusion.

“Back off, Toralei,” came the warning of the accented voice to his left. 

“I’m just having some fun, Lagoona. Surely it’s bad enough we have to have him attending our school but now he’s shopping at monster malls?” the cat purred.

“Jackson’s me mate and you will not bully him here or I’ll have me foster parents throw you out of their shop,” Lagoona warned.

“Hmmm. Very well; we’ll leave him alone for now but when that normie turns on you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, the cats sashayed out of the shop.

“You okay?” Lagoona asked as she offered a hand to help him up. 

“Yeah,” Jackson said embarrassed as he stood up. “Just my pride was hurt.”

Lagoona giggled. “Come on; let me introduce you to everyone.” She took his hand and dragged him over to the table. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet me new mate Jackson.” Five pairs of eyes turned to him and Jackson was pleased to see Ghoulia was also there but so was the werewolf alpha who kept staring at him in Clawculus. “Jackson, this is Frankie.” The green-skinned girl waved and giggled hello. “Draculaura.” The short vampire girl gave a fang-filled smile and an enthusiastic ‘pleased to meet you.’ “Clawdeen.” The alpha wolf raised an eyebrow as she said ‘we’ve met.’ “Ghoulia, I think you already know.” The zombie girl waved and he smiled back. “And lastly, Cleo.” The caramel-skinned mummy gave him a judgmental once over.

“You’re not leaving Gil for this loser, are you?” Cleo asked as she picked at her nails. 

“What?” Lagoona asked, clearly confused before recovering. 

“Somethin’ about ‘im doesn’t smell right, ghoul,” Clawdeen complained as she glared at him.

“It’s not like that and Jackson is not a loser. In fact, I met him in me Monday program.”

“Oh! You mean he’s a….” Lagoona placed a quick hand over Draculaura’s mouth before making a shushing notion. The vampire looked around to make sure no one was listening before looking back at them for confirmation. When Lagoona nodded, she practically bounced up and down in her seat. “Fang-tastic! I haven’t seen one for centuries.”

“Did I miss something?” Cleo asked, her pale blue eyes narrowed on them. 

“It’s nothing, Cleo. I’m just a little embarrassed about taking a ballet class. Two left fins, ya know.” Good save, Lagoona.

“You’re a ballet dancer?” Cleo exclaimed as she looked him over again. “Well I suppose you have the lines for it.” A sudden buzz thankfully drew her attention and she pounced on the little golden phone on the table. “Deuce and Slow-Moe are waiting for us at the movies. I’ll catch you ghouls later.”

Ghoulia gave a goodbye groan and slowly followed her. They had barely left before the little vampire was pulling Jackson into one of the high-backed chairs with an excited smile as she brushed the bangs out of his face. 

“You are just so cute! And those eyes… have you considered contact lenses?” Draculaura asked as the world suddenly became extremely blurry.

“Slow down, ghoul. Let the poor guy breath,” Clawdeen barked at her before the world came back into focus. 

“But this is so… exciting!” Draculaura clapped her hands with a small squeal of delight. Her bright smile clearly illuminated her pearly white fangs.

“At least it explains the weird artificial smell,” Clawdeen grumbled as her nose twitched as she leaned forward and sniffed at him. 

“Wait… I’m confused… just what is going on?” Frankie asked, leaning forward over her mug with an utterly bewildered expression. Jackson sank low into his chair as the mismatched eyes regarded him while his own eyes darted nervously around the café. No one appeared to be eavesdropping but there was always the chance someone had an ear pointed in their direction. 

Lagoona put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she promised, “We’ll tell you later, Frankie.” Somehow the other omega’s touch relaxed him and averted the panic that had been rising. “For now, let’s go shopping.”

“Ooh, let’s go to To Die For!” Draculaura declared as she looped her arms around Jackson’s left arm and squeezed. Jackson was beginning to think that this was a very bad idea.

“I thought you had all the outfits this season from there,” Clawdeen whined.

“Not for me, silly; for Jacky here,” the little vampire said as she suddenly carded her fingers through Jackson’s hair like she was fixing a stray strand that he couldn’t see. Wait… Jacky? 

“Um, my name is actually Jackson,” the omega remarked.

Neither girl seemed to have heard him. Clawdeen inclined her head as she looked him up and down, amber eyes narrowed on his shirt. “Doesn’t seem his style.”

“Don’t you think he would look fabulous in something with lace?” 

“Hmmm. Perhaps a little lace at the wrists would make him look elegant without making him look like a vamp.”

“Oh…what about a dark lace choker to match his hair and set off his lovely eyes.”

“Too feminine, ghoul.”

“But my cousin Vlad is a,” nervous pink eyes glanced around before whispering, “you-know-what and he used to wear a white choker with a gold charm all the time.”

“You haven’t seen Vlad for centuries, Draculaura. Fashion and the world have changed. Besides, it would be too suspicious for a male to wear something like that.” Long, milk chocolate fingers suddenly tilted Jackson’s head up. “But those glasses need to go. We’re definitely taking him to Eye for Eyes.”

The little beta vampire let out a happy squeal and Jackson suddenly found himself being pulled out of his seat and dragged by Draculaura into the middle of the circle of girls around the mall. With Draculaura still holding onto his left arm, Lagoona had taken a place to his right. Once the vampire and the werewolf were distracted by discussions of fashion for him, the fresh water monster leaned over and whispered, “Sorry, mate. They can get a little intense but they have the best intentions at heart.”

Their first stop was To Die For. Unexpectedly, Jackson immediately thought he would like it as he surveyed the store. Instead of the noise and chaos elsewhere in the mall, the atmosphere of this store was much more relaxed. The walls were done in a chrome grey with red accents and the speakers were playing violin music that jumped and dipped enough that it was more hip than soothing but still did not call forth an intense migraine like the club music that floated into the mall’s halls from other stores like Klawed & Fetch. Though it screamed vampire, two of the sales people were cats.

Within minutes, Jackson was pushed into a dressing room with a fifteen-dollar dark blue ruffle shirt with a high collar and twenty-dollar black tailored pants without even being asked what his size was while the girls waited outside and whispered. Alone in the dressing room, without a mirror, as he tried the clothes on, Jackson was finally able to realize he was no longer as nervous as he had been when he had arrived at the café. These girls in their own strange way somehow made him feel safe and… accepted. Was this what it was like to have friends?

As he finished buttoning up his shirt, he heard Frankie call, “Jackson… you okay in there?”

“Yeah. Coming out now,” he said as he slipped the last button in place and opened the dressing room’s red curtain. The four girls’ faces went blank. “Oh… is it that bad?”

“No! It’s perfect…” Draculaura said as she dragged him over to the only mirror in the corner of the store near the dressing rooms. Jackson was stunned as he saw the outfit made his eyes, skin, and blonde highlights glow in almost a hypnotizing way; powerful and masculine with just the slightest hint of his true sex. If the figure in the mirror did not copy him worrying at his bottom lip, he would have thought it was someone else. Jackson might identify himself as a male but he was too timid to exude the power and sureness of the boy in front of him. Draculaura’s outfit jumped in the mirror, indicating the girl’s excitement. “You have to wear this to school on Monday.”

“Uh… my instructor wants me to wear pastels…” 

Draculaura made a sound of disgust. “So Victorian. But soft lavender and soft emerald green shirts like this would do nice with your skin tone too.” Clawdeen appeared behind them almost instantly with said shirts in hand.

“And they were even on clearance,” the werewolf mused with a smile as Jackson went back to get changed. When Jackson stepped out in his jeans and turquoise top, the girls had already moved to the female section of the store as Draculaura examined a rack of long pastel, high collar dresses that Jackson was suddenly praying were not for him. Thankfully, Draculaura held a pale yellow and white dress up to Lagoona and dismissed that thought from his head. 

“Tolerable,” Lagoona agreed even though she eyed it in disgust. “I think I’d rather just risk Mrs. Smith’s anger than be untrue to me-self. I’m just there out of curiosity anyway.”

Frankie inclined her head. “But you don’t want to be the only one not in the right outfit… how about we take this dress and add some yellow netting in place of the lace at the collar and wrists?”

“Good-on-ya, mate!” Lagoona smiled as she eyed the dress again. “I’ll just tweak this dress to add me own flair to it. Maybe even add some netting to the skirt.” 

The girls began to approach the cashier while Jackson lingered behind them, still chatting and brainstorming how to make the old-fashioned dress scream Lagoona. Within minutes, they were out the door with their arms locked again and almost ran smack into a group of jocks in Monster High letterman jackets skateboarding down the hall. Jackson spun Draculaura and himself quickly against the wall as the group went by with two security officers hurrying after them. Among them were Heath and the Minotaur bully. 

“Okay. That is seriously dangerous,” Frankie stated with her hand clutched over where her heart should be as her bolts sparked. 

“I’m just glad my brother isn’t with those idiots.” Clawdeen’s nose wrinkled again in distaste. Jackson found himself unintentionally nodded in agreement. He understood her embarrassment, especially since his cousin HAD been one of the monsters in the crowd. Jackson knew there was going to be a shouting match at home when his Uncle Feueron found out.

“But you know when Headmistress Bloodgood hears about this, all the jocks will probably be punished,” Lagoona sighed. “I just hope it doesn’t involve dissolving a team.”

“Or she might suspend enough players that we might have to forfeit!” Draculaura cried in horror, a tear running down her face and smearing some of her make-up. “And our men’s Casketball team was going to the State Championship this year! Clawd will be so disappointed.”

“I’m sure someone can replace Heath and Manny if they are caught,” Clawdeen consoled her as she pet her shoulder before a fang-filled grin broke out across her face. “You know… with the reflexes I just saw, our Jackson might be Monster High’s secret weapon.”

Jackson brought his hands up defensively. “Whoa… I don’t think…” His protest was cut off when Draculaura sniffed and then brightened with a small smile. 

“She’s right. You could play if you wanted. You moved faster than Cleo when her favorite designer is on sale!” 

“I… the… you see…” Jackson’s excuses were all getting jostled in his brain as he tried not to panic at the thought of hundreds of people watching him. He hadn’t liked crowds before they discovered he was an omega. Horror stories of omegas being courted by alphas of all ages once they emerged flashed before his mind. The thought of slipping up somewhere and revealing his omega sex and having unwanted alphas constantly harassing him until he bonded with someone sexually almost made him want to pass out. He wasn’t ready for that kind of attention and he didn’t think he’d ever be. He hadn’t realized he was breathing erratically until Clawdeen was leading him over a metal bench. 

“It’s okay, Jackson. Just breathe. You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” Frankie soothed him. 

Lagoona pressed a cold water bottle against his forehead and he slowly began to breathe normally. One breath in, one breath out. 

“Hey, Lagoona!” an unfamiliar voice called out, causing Lagoona to turn her attention to the right. 

“Clawd!” Draculaura happily called as two figures came into view. They were also wearing letterman jackets and Jackson vaguely recognized them both from the Cafeteria. One was wearing an aqua helmet and the other had the same eyes and milk chocolate skin as Clawdeen. 

The werewolf was the first to spot him. “What’s the normie doing here?” he said as he eyed Jackson with a hard, distrustful look in his eye. With a small glance to his right, Jackson saw the same expression reflected on the blue male’s face.

“Hey, be nice!” Clawdeen commanded as she bopped the werewolf on the nose, making him yelp. As he rubbed his nose and whimpered, she laid a soft hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Jackson, this is Clawd- my idiot brother and Gil- Lagoona’s boyfriend; Clawd and Gil, this is Jackson. He’s a friend, so I want you to treat him like one.”

“But…”

“He saved me from being trampled by your friends on skateboards,” Draculaura piped up. Jackson inclined his head as he stared at her. He was sure she could have gotten out of the way without his help.

“Really?” Golden eyes narrowed at him in the same way his sister had at the café before looking confused. “Wait… who would skateboard at a mall?”

“Your friends Heath, Manny, and Gato to name a few,” Lagoona replied as she pulled the bottle of water away from Jackson’s forehead now that he had calmed down. 

Clawd slapped his forehead and clutched the bridge of his nose. “Those idiots! They are still on thin ice with Bloodgood after the St. Patrick’s Day fiasco where they decided to release snakes into the air ducts at school. They are lucky Deuce managed to catch them all.”

“There were snakes in the air ducts?” Draculaura cried, her eyes large. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?

“We thought you knew,” Gil replied shrugging his shoulders. 

“Well I didn’t and I think I would have preferred to remain ignorant,” the tiny vampire shivered as she hugged herself. 

“It’s okay, babe. I’ll protect you,” Clawd promised as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Aw. Thanks, Clawd,” she giggled as she leaned into him with an adoring smile. They met each other’s eyes and suddenly and quickly gave each other a quick peck on the lips.

“So what did you ladies want to do?” the blue man asked as he rolled his eyes at his friend’s display while Lagoona playfully swatted him.

“We’re gonna take Jackson to Eye for Eyes to get contact lenses.”

“Uh… that really is not necessary,” the normie omega waved the suggestion away. He liked his glasses; they gave him a barrier to hide behind at times.

“It is totally necessary!”

“Furr-real.” His glasses were pulled off his face once again and Jackson blinked at the blurred shapes as he reached blindly for where he thought his glasses had gone. “That face of yours should not be hidden behind these things.”

“No way!” Clawd growled and suddenly his glasses were back on his face. Crooked, but back. “He looks too pretty for a guy without those. You’d have to spike up his hair or something so no one thinks he’s some chick.” 

A deep, mortified blush swept across his cheeks. Sure he wasn’t completely male (technically male omegas were hermaphrodites with the exterior male genitals being the most visible feature with the opposite being true of the female alpha) and wasn’t very “macho” but he at least always saw himself as male. “Then I’d rather keep my glasses.” His comment went unheard. 

“Men can be pretty too,” Clawdeen argued as she stomped her foot. 

“Only if they are omega wannabes.” Clawd suddenly stopped and wrinkled his nose as his eyes narrowed on him with a slight incline of his head. Jackson froze as the alpha’s nostrils flared at him. “You could do so much better than some normie beta, sis.” Oh… Clawd thought his sister was interested in him. Part of Jackson was relieved; the other part was hurt by the dismissal. It was a common enough practice with some alphas and feminine-looking beta males. The werewolf was implying he was some kind of broken, substitute doll for a shiny new toy that was coming- something to play with and discard when a female beta or omega caught their eye. Worthless….

“That has nothing to do with it!” 

Jackson didn’t want to hear anymore. He wanted to go home. Cheeks flaming, Jackson pretended to check his watch. “Oh… look at the time… I should be heading home… see you around…” He was on his feet and running before they had time to stop him. How he found a payphone so quickly, he did not know. 

Uncle Feueron picked up on the second ring. “Burns’ residence.”

Jackson forced a fake smile on his face. He didn’t want to be pitied right now; he just wanted to go home, read a book, and forget the way today ended. “Hey Uncle, it’s me.”

“Oh?” His Uncle’s voice beamed. “Having a good time?”

“Yeah… I’m just a little tired. Can you pick me up?”

Within half an hour, he was back in his room and curled up on his bed re-reading The Chrome Citadel. He was just beginning to lose himself when he heard Heath’s laugh coming up the hall, drawing his attention away from his book. ‘Please don’t play loud music… please don’t…’ Drums and metal strings suddenly wailed as his silent pleas were ignored. At least the migraine prevented him from remembering the rest of the night…

To Be Continued…


End file.
